MINOR premiers Oakleigh Chargers nabbed a pair of wins over the two weekends of Round 16 and recorded a league-high four representatives our Team of the Week, one ahead of the five other winners. While the other victors all had three players, just one loser – Murray Bushrangers – had two, with the remaining three players spread between five sides.

Gippsland Power’s Jasmine Sowden captains the side after earning our Coates Talent League Girls Player of the Week with 31 disposals, seven marks, seven inside 50s and four goals in a huge performance over Murray Bushrangers.

Sowden was named at half-forward, while a couple of double bottom-agers in Ava Deszcz and Grace Dillow made it onto the bench after strong performances in that game but were marginally squeezed out from the starting team given the strong performances across the board.

Also in attack is Chloe Bown who was named at half-forward having had a couple of big games over the two weekends. Chargers skipper Sienna Tallariti slotted into the back pocket, with Sarah Poustie (wing) and Jacinta Baxter (interchange) also earning spots in the 24-strong squad.

Knights bottom-ager Marlo Graham found her place in the forward pocket, alongside her Northern skipper Holly Ridewood who was named on the wing. They made the team with fellow Vic Metro representative Zoe Hargreaves.

In the other forward pocket is Kayla Dalgleish who rotated between midfield and attack, teaming up well with Jemma Reynolds (centre) for the Dandenong Stingrays in their win over Geelong Falcons. Elli Symonds was the other Stingray in the side at centre half-forward, while her opponent when in the ruck, Hayley Peck did her best for the Falcons.

Vic Metro MVP Sierra Grieves had a day out for Western Jets against GWV Rebels, while Jets captain Lou-Lou Field made her return and found a place in a back pocket. Opposing each other at different times, Jets’ tall Alex McBride-Loane and Rebels’ key Claire Mahony were both named at half-back.

Tasmania Devils forward Ava Read kicked a league-high four goals for Round 16 and was the easy choice for full-forward, with midfielder Priya Bowering named on-ball and her fellow bottom-ager Mischa Barwin on the interchange.

Rounding out the 24-player squad are a couple of 30-plus disposal Bushrangers, with Murray duo Holly Egan and Ellie Hall returning to the Team of the Week once again, while Bendigo Pioneers’ Sienna Hobbs was her side’s sole representative, named at full-back.

In Round 16 it was tough to round down the remaining players to just three emergencies, but in the end the three chosen were Geelong Falcons’ Chloe Bryant, Bendigo Pioneers’ Lavinia Cox and Oakleigh Chargers’ Zoe Curry.

2024 TALENT LEAGUE GIRLS TEAM OF THE WEEK: ROUND 16

B: Lou-Lou Field (Western Jets) – Sienna Hobbs (Bendigo Pioneers) – Sienna Tallariti (Oakleigh Chargers)
HB: Alex McBride-Loane (Western Jets) – Claire Mahony (GWV Rebels) – Holly Egan (Murray Bushrangers)
C: Sarah Poustie (Oakleigh Chargers) – Jemma Reynolds (Dandenong Stingrays) – Holly Ridewood (Northern Knights)
HF: Chloe Bown (Oakleigh Chargers) – Elli Symonds (Dandenong Stingrays) – Jasmine Sowden (Gippsland Power) (c)
F: Marlo Graham (Northern Knights) – Ava Read (Tasmania Devils) – Kayla Dalgleish (Dandenong Stingrays)
R: Hayley Peck (Geelong Falcons) – Priya Bowering (Tasmania Devils) – Sierra Grieves (Western Jets)
INT: Mischa Barwin (Tasmania Devils) – Jacinta Baxter (Oakleigh Chargers) – Ava Deszcz (Gippsland Power) – Grace Dillow (Gippsland Power) – Ellie Hall (Murray Bushrangers) – Zoe Hargreaves (Northern Knights)

EMG: Chloe Bryant (Geelong Falcons) – Lavinia Cox (Bendigo Pioneers) – Zoe Curry (Oakleigh Chargers)